I’ve been putting the food tricks to the test. For the past week the food I’ve been eating has been pretty different from what I normally eat, and surprisingly I’ve noticed some changes. Debby Stern’s main tips were to cut down on sugar, bump up the protein, and knock out cheese and red meat. I’ve been sticking to her advice and have been being much more mindful of the food that I’ve been putting into my body.
First off, here’s a food log of the stuff I’ve been eating recently:
Week 2/9-2/12
Monday: granola, almond milk, blueberries, tea, apple, salad and lentil curry with brown rice, chocolate chip cookie, falafel, peanut butter and banana
Tuesday: waffle with peanut butter, berry-banana smoothie, salad, popcorn, Indian food, apple with peanut butter
Wednesday: top of muffin, granola, blueberries, salad, banana, popcorn, cookie, Indian, smoothie bowl
Thursday: waffle with peanut butter, banana, salad, oatmeal with blueberries, cookie
Week 2/17-2/22
Monday- nonfat plain yogurt, berries, tiny bit of granola, sweet potato stew with turkey meatballs and cauliflower, lentils, chicken, salad, huge smoothie, trail mix
Tuesday-waffle, peanut butter, banana, sweet potato stew, cauliflower, turkey meatballs, two clementines, piece of pumpkin bread, huge salad, yogurt, fruit, dark chocolate
Wednesday- waffle, peanut butter, banana, half a bagel,
Stew and quinoa, grapes,trail mix, huge salad, dark chocolate
Thursday- waffle,, peanut butter banana, green tea, whole foods quinoa salads, 3 sushi, cashews, brownie, teaspoon of peanut butter, huge salad, rest of sushi, asparagus
Friday- peanut butter, waffle, banana, green tea, blaze pizza, green tea,
big salad, little bit of chicken, little bit of sweet potato chickpea stew, piece of cake
Saturday- waffle, peanut butter, banana, apple, cashews, dinner at TRU
Sunday-cashews, banana, clementine, tabbouleh and hummus, gluten free naan with vegan cheese, vegan cookie dough, grapes, huge salad
Monday: granola, almond milk, blueberries, tea, apple, salad and lentil curry with brown rice, chocolate chip cookie, falafel, peanut butter and banana
Tuesday: waffle with peanut butter, berry-banana smoothie, salad, popcorn, Indian food, apple with peanut butter
Wednesday: top of muffin, granola, blueberries, salad, banana, popcorn, cookie, Indian, smoothie bowl
Thursday: waffle with peanut butter, banana, salad, oatmeal with blueberries, cookie
Week 2/17-2/22
Monday- nonfat plain yogurt, berries, tiny bit of granola, sweet potato stew with turkey meatballs and cauliflower, lentils, chicken, salad, huge smoothie, trail mix
Tuesday-waffle, peanut butter, banana, sweet potato stew, cauliflower, turkey meatballs, two clementines, piece of pumpkin bread, huge salad, yogurt, fruit, dark chocolate
Wednesday- waffle, peanut butter, banana, half a bagel,
Stew and quinoa, grapes,trail mix, huge salad, dark chocolate
Thursday- waffle,, peanut butter banana, green tea, whole foods quinoa salads, 3 sushi, cashews, brownie, teaspoon of peanut butter, huge salad, rest of sushi, asparagus
Friday- peanut butter, waffle, banana, green tea, blaze pizza, green tea,
big salad, little bit of chicken, little bit of sweet potato chickpea stew, piece of cake
Saturday- waffle, peanut butter, banana, apple, cashews, dinner at TRU
Sunday-cashews, banana, clementine, tabbouleh and hummus, gluten free naan with vegan cheese, vegan cookie dough, grapes, huge salad
Week 2/23-2/24
Monday-waffle, peanut butter, strawberries, salad,cashews, little bit of protein smoothie, avocado toast, huge salad, cookie
Tuesday-waffle, peanut butter, strawberries, green tea, turkey cheese panini, apple, turkey meatballs with stew, salad, kale chip, bite of cookie, blueberries/raspberries
Tuesday-waffle, peanut butter, strawberries, green tea, turkey cheese panini, apple, turkey meatballs with stew, salad, kale chip, bite of cookie, blueberries/raspberries
Something huge that I learned from Debby is to make sure that I have protein with each thing that I eat to make the energy I get from that food source last longer and keep me feeling full for longer. Instead of eating sugar filled yogurt with berries for breakfast, I’ve switched it up for a waffle, with pure peanut butter (not the horribly processed Skippy that I’ve eaten up until two weeks ago), and either sliced bananas or strawberries on top. Normally I’d be so hungry two hours after breakfast and would end up eating random foods that my friends had in class to try to make the hunger go away. With my new breakfast staple, I stay full until lunch time and don’t feel the need to eat anything in between. I used to eat lots of salads for lunch because I thought that this was me being healthy, but to be honest they didn’t fill me up for long and I ended up eating a ton when I got home from school because I never felt satisfied. Debby told me that I should eat most of my carbs for breakfast and lunch because I still have all day to use that energy instead of eating a heaping bowl of pasta for dinner and letting it sit in my stomach and turn into fat over night. So that’s another huge change I’ve made, my lunches are now more hefty and protein filled while my dinners are usually salads and more light.
Honestly I’m so surprised at the difference I’ve felt from only a couple weeks of this change. Something this process has done is make me much more conscious and mindful of the food I’m eating and my hunger. I used to find myself eating with friends just because they were eating and even if I wasn’t hungry myself I would stuff myself. I also would eat more because the food that I was eating wasn’t actually giving me energy and wasn’t filling me up. Now that I’ve changed things up, I don’t find myself craving starchy or sweet foods as much. I now know what foods makes me feel good and what foods don’t. It’s crazy that just being more aware of what you are eating has the potential to really change the way that you feel.